Method and device for detaching user equipment

ABSTRACT

A method and device for detaching a user equipment (UE) are disclosed in the present invention. The UE is registered with a mobility management entity (MME) in a packet switched (PS) network and a mobile switching center (MSC) in a circuit switched (CS) network. When the UE needs to detach from the PS network, the MSC receives a Detach Request with a Detach Type indicating the detaching from the PS network only; after receiving the Detach Request, the MSC deletes the context of the PS core network entity and clears the connection between the MSC and the MME. An MME for performing UE detachment is also disclosed in the present invention. The present invention helps reduce the time delay during the subsequent handover and quickly provide users with communications services, so as to improve user&#39;s experience and meet the carriers&#39; requirements.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/971,612, filed on Dec. 17, 2010, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2009/072219, filed on 11 Jun. 2009. The International Application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200810067876.2, filed on Jun. 17, 2008. The afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and more particularly, to a technology for detaching a user equipment (UE) from a packet switched (PS) network in which the UE has been registered.

BACKGROUND

To address the challenges brought about by wireless broadband technologies and keep the leading position of 3GPP network, the 3GPP launched the Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 2004. The LTE defines a new architecture of mobile communications network, namely, evolved packet system (EPS).

Many services of carriers operate in the circuit switched (CS) domain in the GPRS/UMTS, and a method is developed to connect the EPS to the CS core network to reuse the existing CS services in the EPS, namely, CS fallback (CSFB). The registration process of the CSFB is as follows: A UE transmits an Attach Request to a mobile management entity (MME). After receiving the Attach Request, the MME performs the Attach operation. In a standard Attach process, after receiving a subscription data insertion process from a home subscriber server (HSS), the MME initiates the Location Update (LU) process to the Mobile Switching Center/Visitor Location Register (MSC/VLR) to register the UE. After receiving the Location Update Request, the MSC/VLR stores information (e.g., address information) about the MME, and connects to the MME through an SGs interface, and then performs a standard CS domain LU process. When the LU process is complete, the MSC/VLR notifies the MME that the LU process ends. After that, the MME notifies the UE that the Attach process ends. Now, the UE successfully creates a context and registers it in the EPS and CS networks.

However, the prior art offers no solution in detaching the UE from the EPS.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a method and device for detaching a UE from an EPS based on the indicator carried in the Detach Type message, thereby meeting the requirements of the communications services.

The embodiments of the present invention disclose a method for detaching a UE registered with an MME in the EPS and an MSC in the CS network. The method includes: when the UE needs to detach from the EPS, receiving, by the MSC, a Detach Request with a Detach Type, the Detach Type indicating the detaching from the EPS only; after receiving the Detach Request, deleting, by the MSC, the context of the packet switched core network entity, and clearing the connection between the MSC and the MME.

The embodiments of the present invention disclose an MME for managing context of a UE in the EPS, including: a triggering unit, configured to trigger the Detach process of a UE; an instructing unit, configured to receive notifications from the triggering unit, and transmit messages to an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) to instruct a UE to select a CS cell; and a detaching unit, configured to receive notifications from the triggering unit, transmit messages to the MSC, instruct the MSC to delete the stored context of the MME, and release or clear the connection between the MSC and the MME.

The method and device disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention can be adopted to detach a UE from only the EPS during the CSFB, and thus reduce the time delay during the subsequent handover and quickly provide users with communications services, thereby improving user's experience and meeting the carriers' requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an architecture of an EPS/CS hybrid network;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of detaching a UE according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of detaching a UE according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of detaching a UE according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a structure block diagram of an MME according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of an EPS/CS hybrid network. The MME in the EPS connects to the MSC in the existing CS core network through an SGs interface. In this network architecture, if a UE residing in the EPS network desires to initiate the CS mobile originating (MO) service in the CS network, the UE needs to switch to the GPRS/UMTS network and select a 2G/3G cell to camp on, and then starts the MO service. If the UE resides in the EPS, when the MSC receives a mobile terminated (MT) service, the MSC transmits a paging message to the MME in the EPS through an SGs interface, the MME pages the UE through the EPS. After receiving the paging message, the UE needs to switch to the GPRS/UMTS network, select a 2G/3G cell to camp on the cell, and then complete the subsequent processing of the MT service.

The embodiments of the present invention provide a method of using a Detach Type in the Detach process. The Detach Type is set to indicate detaching UE from the EPS only. According to the indication, the UE detaching from the EPS network is complete. Based on this, the MME may transmit S1 Initial UE Context Request to the eNodeB through an S1 interface to instruct the UE to select a CS cell for CS communications services. That is, the UE selects an appropriate CS cell based on conditions such as current location and signal strength to provide CS service.

The following describes in detail the solution of the present solution with reference to FIG. 2 and some exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of detaching a UE according to a first embodiment. The method includes the following:

Step 201: A UE transmits a Detach Request to the MME, the message carrying a Detach Type indicating EPS Detach Only.

Step 202: The Detach process is initiated to release the UE's resources in the EPS. The MME deletes the mobility management context and bearer context of the UE, and instructs the serving gateway (GW) to delete the bearer context relating to the UE stored in the serving GW, and the context relating to the UE in the packet data network (PDN) GW is also deleted.

Step 203: The MME transmits an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) Detach Indication message to the MSC/VLR, the message carrying a Detach Type indicating EPS Detach Only. Alternatively, other message may also be used to indicate the EPS Detach Only After receiving the message, the MSC/VLR knows that EPS detachment only is required.

Step 204: The MSC/VLR performs the operation according to the Detach Type. If EPS detachment only is required, the connection between the MSC/VLR and MME is released or cleared, and the MSC deletes all the contexts relating to the MME.

Step 205: After receiving the Detach Request, the MME knows that EPS detachment only is required according to the Detach Type, and then transmits an S1 Initial UE Context Setup message to the eNodeB. The S1 Initial UE Context Setup message is originally used to create a context for the UE in the eNodeB; but in the embodiments of the present invention, the message may be used to instruct the eNodeB to transmit a message to the UE so as to instruct the UE to select a CS cell. The message carries a Detach Indication, based on which the eNodeB may know that the UE needs to select a CS cell.

The MME may also transmit other message to the eNodeB to instruct the UE to select a CS cell.

The sequence of performing step 203 and step 205 is not limited, but step 204 must be performed after step 203.

Step 206: The MME may transparently transmit a Detach Accept message to the UE through the eNodeB to indicate that the UE detachment is complete. In an embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the Detach Complete message, the UE actively selects a CS cell. That is, the UE selects an appropriate CS cell based on the current information such as the strength of the signals transmitted by a base station to provide CS service. This step is optional in this embodiment. If the MME does not perform this step, the UE may also obtain an instruction on CS cell selection through step 210.

Step 207: The eNodeB transmits a Handover Request message to the MME to request the pre-allocation of resources in the target network and initiate the PS domain handover process.

Step 208: The MME receives the Handover Request from the eNodeB, and performs handover with the serving GPRS support node (SGSN). This step includes: transferring, by the MME, the received Handover Request to the SGSN; after receiving the Handover Request, instructing, by the SGSN, the base station controller (BSC) to pre-allocate resources for the UE, and then transmitting information about the resources to the MME, for example, transmitting frequencies relating to the radio access to the MME.

Step 209: The MME transmits the resource information to the eNodeB.

Step 210: The eNodeB transfers the received network resource information to the UE, and instructs the UE to select a CS cell. The UE selects an appropriate cell based on the resource information, and then accesses the CS network.

CS cell selection described in this embodiment is directed to selecting a cell with the best signals in the public land mobile network (PLMN). If the UE stores information about the PLMN, for example, frequency and scrambling, the UE will first search for an appropriate cell based on such information (i.e., stored information cell selection). In this way, the UE may quickly access the communications network.

After the MME transmits an S1 Initial UE Context Setup message to the eNodeB, if the target network supports neither PS handover nor the dual transfer mode (DTM) that combines PS and CS, the Network Assisted Cell Change (NACC) process needs to be initiated.

The following describes in detail a second embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 3.

Steps 301 to 305 are the same as steps 201 to 205 in the first embodiment, so they are omitted here.

Step 306: The MME may transmit a Detach Accept message to the UE to indicate that the UE detachment is complete. This step is optional in this embodiment. If the MME does not perform this step, the UE may also obtain an instruction on CS cell selection through step 313.

Steps 307 to 313: After receiving a CS access information request from the eNodeB, the MME transfers it to the SGSN and transfers the CS access information sent from the SGSN to the eNodeB, and then the eNodeB initiates the NACC process. This step includes: receiving the CS access information through the MME, the SGSN, and the radio access network (RAN) in the CS domain, delivering the information to the UE through the SGSN, the MME, and the eNodeB, and instructing the UE to select a CS cell. The UE may access the CS network based on the received CS access information.

The following describes in detail a third embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 4.

Steps 401 to 404 are the same as steps 201 to 204 in the first embodiment, so they are omitted here.

Step 405: The MME may transmit a Detach Accept message to the UE to indicate that the UE detachment is complete, the message carrying an instruction on CS cell selection for the UE.

Step 406: After receiving the Detach Accept message, the UE actively selects a CS cell. That is, the UE selects an appropriate CS cell based on the current information such as the strength of the signals transmitted by a base station to provide CS service.

In other embodiments of the present invention, the Detach process may be initiated by the MME, HSS, or home location register (HLR); other processes are the same as those in the preceding two embodiments, so they are omitted here.

FIG. 5 is a structure block diagram of an MME in a fourth embodiment, which is detailed in the following.

As the core network element (NE) in the EPS, the MME performs mobility management on the control plane, including subscriber context management, mobility management, and so on. The MME includes a triggering unit, an instructing unit, and a detaching unit. The triggering unit is configured to trigger the Detach process of a UE, including actively triggering the Detach process and triggering the Detach process after receiving a Detach Request message from a UE. Accordingly, the triggering unit may include a first triggering subunit or a second triggering unit. The first triggering subunit is configured to trigger the Detach process after receiving a Detach Request message from a UE; the second triggering subunit is configured to actively trigger the Detach process of a UE. The instructing unit is configured to receive notifications from the triggering unit after the triggering unit initiates the Detach process, and transmits messages such as S1 Initial UE Context Setup to the eNodeB to instruct the UE to select a CS cell. The instructing unit may be further configured to transmit a Detach Accept message to the UE to notify the UE that the detachment is successful. The detaching unit is configured to: after the triggering unit triggers the Detach process of the UE, receive notifications from the triggering unit, transmit messages to the MSC in the CS domain, instruct the MSC to delete the stored context of the MME, and release or clear the connection between the MSC and the MME. In an embodiment of the present invention, an MME may further include: a switching unit, configured to perform subsequent handover after the UE is detached; or a transferring unit, configured to transfer the CS access information request sent from the eNodeB to the MSC, and transfers the CS network access information sent from the MSC to the eNodeB.

The method disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be adopted to detach the UE from only the EPS during the CSFB, reduce the time delay during the subsequent handover, and quickly provide users with communications services, thereby improving user's experience.

The present invention has been described with reference to the preceding exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodiments, however, are directed to helping understand the core thought and implementation of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art may make modifications to the embodiments and details thereof without departing from the thought and scope of the present invention. Such modifications shall be considered to be the implementation of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for detaching a user equipment (UE) registered in a packet switched (PS) network and a circuit switched (CS) network, comprising: transmitting, by a mobility management entity (MME), through an SGs interface, a detach indication to a mobile switching center/visitor location register (MSC/VLR), wherein the detach indication indicates evolved packet system (EPS) detach only, which instructs the MSC/VLR to clear a connection between the MSC/VLR and the MME; and transmitting, by the MME, a message through an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) to the UE to instruct the UE to select a CS cell.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: initiating, by the MME, a detach process.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the MME, a detach request from the UE, wherein the detach request includes a detach type indicating the EPS detach only.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message transmitted to the UE is an S1 initial UE context setup message, the method further comprises: transmitting, by the MME, a detach accept message to the UE to notify that EPS detach is completed.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the message transmitted to the UE is an S1 initial UE context setup message, the method further comprises: transmitting, by the MME, a detach accept message to the UE to notify that EPS detach is completed.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the MME, a handover request from the eNodeB; transferring, by the MME, the handover request to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) to instruct the SGSN to instruct a base station controller (BSC) to pre-allocate resources for the UE to select the CS cell; receiving, by the MME, information of the resources from the SGSN, wherein the message transmitted to the UE comprises a handover instruction that comprises the information of the resources.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the MME, a CS access information request from the eNodeB; transferring, by the MME, the CS access information request to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN); and receiving, by the MME, CS access information from the SGSN, wherein the message transmitted to the UE comprises the CS access information.
 8. The method of claim 3, further comprising: receiving, by the MME, a CS access information request from the eNodeB; transferring, by the MME, the CS access information request to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN); and receiving, by the MME, CS access information from the SGSN, wherein the message transmitted to the UE comprises the CS access information.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the detach indication includes a detach type that indicates the EPS detach only.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the message transmitted to the UE is a detach accept message.
 11. A mobility management entity (MME) configured to detach a user equipment (UE) registered in a packet switched (PS) network and a circuit switched (CS) network, comprising: a triggering unit, a detaching unit, and an instructing unit; wherein the triggering unit is configured to trigger a detach process of the UE, and send a first notification to the detaching unit and a second notification to the instructing unit; the detaching unit is configured to receive the first notification from the triggering unit, transmit, through an SGs interface, a detach indication to a mobile switching center/visitor location register (MSC/VLR), wherein the detach indication indicates evolved packet system (EPS) detach only, which instructs the MSC/VLR to clear a connection between the MSC/VLR and the MME; and the instructing unit is configured to receive the second notification from the triggering unit, and transmit a message through an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) to the UE to instruct the UE to select a CS cell.
 12. The MME of claim 11, wherein the triggering unit comprises a first triggering subunit or a second triggering unit; wherein the first triggering subunit is configured to receive a detach request from the UE and then trigger the detach process of the UE and send the first notification to the detaching unit and the second notification to the instructing unit; and the second triggering subunit is configured to initiate the detach process and send the first notification to the detaching unit and the second notification to the instructing unit.
 13. The MME of claim 11, further comprises: a switching unit configured to receive a handover request from the eNodeB, transfer the handover request to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) to instruct the SGSN to instruct a base station controller (BSC) to pre-allocate resources for the UE, and receive information of the resources from the SGSN, wherein the message transmitted to the UE comprises a handover instruction that comprises the information of the resources, which is used by the UE to select the CS cell.
 14. The MME of claim 11, further comprising: a transferring unit configured to receive a CS access information request from the eNodeB, transfer the CS access information request to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) and receive CS' access information sent from the SGSN, wherein the message transmitted to the UE comprises the CS access information.
 15. The MME of claim 11, wherein the message transmitted to the UE is an S1 initial UE context setup message and the instructing unit is further configured to send a detach accept message to the UE and notify the UE that EPS detach is completed.
 16. The MME of claim 12, wherein the message transmitted to the UE is an S1 initial UE context setup message and the instructing unit is further configured to send a detach accept message to the UE and notify the UE that EPS detach is completed.
 17. The MME of claim 11, wherein the message transmitted to the UE is a detach accept message.
 18. The MME of claim 11, wherein the detach indication includes a detach type that indicates the EPS detach only. 